Brosz leads Danbury 12's

Published 12:19 am, Tuesday, September 1, 2009

DANBURY -- Corey Brosz proved he's equally adept from both sides of the plate Monday, starting a rally with his bat and then finishing things on the mound.

Brosz blasted a first-inning home run and pitched shutdown relief over the final three innings as Danbury's 12-year-old team defeated Exeter, N.H., 7-2, in a second-round game of the Cal Ripken New England Regional Tournament at Lawrence Visconti Memorial Stadium in Rogers Park.

"He was on, no doubt about it," said Danbury manager Vinnie Fiddner, who also credited starter Pete Rosetti for his efforts. "Corey and Pete on the mound were just unbelievable today."

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Brosz, who said he used "mostly fastballs and curveballs," recorded eight strikeouts out of possible nine outs over the final three innings for Danbury, allowing just two hits.

Rosetti was nicked for a single run in the first inning off a wild pitch and allowed another run in the second on Chris Michaud's RBI single.

But Rosetti worked out of a one-out, second-and-third situation in the second by fielding a comebacker and catching Michaud in rundown between third and home. He escaped the inning without further damage by going to his knees to scoop Spencer Young's hot smash and get the out at first.

For Brosz, his two-run homer over the center-field fence in the first was his second in as many games in the tournament. He also launched a long homer in Danbury's opening-round win over Falmouth, Mass.

"The other one felt like I hit it better, but this one I kind of got the bat on it and it went," said Danbury's No. 3 hitter in the batting order. "We try to get up on them early in the games. That's what we go for. It gets them thinking that they've got to come back."

George Bielizna added an RBI single in the first to stake Danbury to a quick 3-0 lead.

Danbury tacked on two more in the third with Rosetti scoring on a wild pitch and Mike Schweitzer scoring on a balk called on Exeter reliever Mike Bowen.

The loss was the first of the season for the New Hampshire state champion, the first Exeter team to ever win a state title in any age group. The 12's boast a 17-1 record through various tournaments this year.

"I just said to the kids, pretty good job guys, you hadn't lost all year,'" said Exeter manager Dana Barbin. "They got beat today fair and square. The team that played better today, Danbury, won the game."

Exeter drops to the losers bracket, where it will face Amherst, N.H., a 13-9 winner in seven innings over Norton, Mass., at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Danbury will play New Canaan in a winners bracket semifinal at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. The two Connecticut teams are the only undefeated squads left in the double-elimination tournament.

They're also more than familiar with each other. Danbury defeated New Canaan by one run in the state tournament final last month.

"I guess you can never get enough of New Canaan," joked Fiddner. "I'm sure they pretty much feel the same way. New Canaan is an excellent team. They know our team. We know their team. The last two years I can't even count how many times we've seen them."

Counting scrimmages, Danbury has a 3-1 advantage over New Canaan this year. And it has another advantage.